Police chief named

Thursday

Jan 26, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - As the city's next police chief, 40-year-old Eric Jones said he's looking forward to bringing stability and longevity to what in recent years has been used as a brief stopover before retirement.

Scott Smith

STOCKTON - As the city's next police chief, 40-year-old Eric Jones said he's looking forward to bringing stability and longevity to what in recent years has been used as a brief stopover before retirement.

City Manager Bob Deis announced Wednesday that Jones will replace interim Police Chief Blair Ulring, who will work his last day Feb. 29. Jones takes command March 1.

A 19-year veteran of the Stockton Police Department, Jones takes over at a critical time, marked by low morale on the force, record high crime in the city and contentious relations between City Hall and the police union.

Jones said that didn't deter him.

"I'll be able to see the department through some difficult times," he said. "Then, I want to be able to see us rebuild during my tenure."

Because he remains second in command as assistant chief to Ulring for five more weeks, Jones said he wasn't ready to detail the direction he'll take the department.

"I take an aggressive stance on fighting crime," said Jones, noting that he and his family live in Stockton, which makes him a stakeholder. "I take the quality of life in Stockton seriously."

Raised in Ripon, Jones and his wife of 14 years have a daughter, 13, and son, 11.

Jones joined the department in 1993, rising steadily up the ranks. He made sergeant in 1999, lieutenant in 2003, captain in 2005, deputy chief in 2008 and assistant chief last year.

He will become Stockton's 49th police chief since 1850. Stockton has never hired a chief from outside departmental ranks. Outside candidates have been considered in past years, but no outside candidates were considered to replace Ulring.

Because of his age, Jones is in a position to break a highly criticized trend in the last decade for chiefs who take their turn at the helm for two or three years - topping out on the pay scale - and then retiring at their peak income.

The last long-term chief, Ed Chavez, retired in 2003 after a decade. He then became mayor. But Chavez was followed by chiefs Mark Herder, Wayne Hose and Tom Morris. Of the three, Herder served the longest at 28 months.

Ulring will have put in 31/2 years as chief. He resigned last year when his pay was cut along with officers to balance the budget, returning the next day on an interim basis. The cuts caused an exodus department wide.

Deis, who appointed Jones under his authority as city manager, said he listened to community members who told him they wanted a leader who will remain on the job longer than the most recent police chiefs.

"I think he's going to stick around awhile," Deis said. "At 40, the bad news for him is he has to work a lot longer before he retires."

Deis said that Ulring did a good job of mentoring Jones, bringing ease both to the selection and transition period. As an insider, Jones knows the complexities of the community, he said.

Deis said he has spent time listening to Jones describe his policing philosophy and fresh ideas. Deis credited the department overall for being flexible in its approach to working with far fewer officers.

"While Eric hasn't been police chief, he's had his fingers on those plans," Deis said.

Jones will have his challenges from the first day. He'll head the city's largest department of roughly 534 sworn and civilian employees. He will have a $92.7 million annual budget.

On the street, Stockton in 2011 experienced a record 58 homicides. In 2010, it had the most crime of any California city per person and ranked second for violent crime. Also in 2010, Stockton ranked as the nation's 10th most violent city.

Officer Steve Leonesio, president of the Stockton Police Officers' Association and one of City Hall's sharpest critics, said Jones possesses the exact personal skills needed for the challenge.

Jones is open minded and able to listen to people - regardless of their position in the department or community - and uses their ideas to everybody's benefit, Leonesio said.

City officials and the police union remain locked in a bitter dispute over pay cuts. It turned into an ugly neighborhood dispute last year when the union bought a home next door to Deis.

A lawsuit encompassing both of those disputes has no end in sight. But Leonesio said Jones' appointment already changes the environment.

Leonesio said he saw Jones at the police department Wednesday shortly after the announcement, and he congratulated Jones.

"I gave him my word we'd do everything we could to get through these times and get the city turned around," he said. "The good news is long overdue."

City spokeswoman Connie Cochran said Jones' pay has yet to be determined.